Business p lan as a vital business tool

BUSINESS PLAN

Setting up a successful business requires careful preparation and planning but also involves a degree of risk-taking. There are a number of questions that all entrepreneurs must ask themselves concerning the products or services that they intend to sell, the competition that they will face, the structure of the business itself and the sources of finance that they will need to open their new venture. This means that all of these parameters must be defined in a business plan: a document that shows how the entrepreneur will organize his or her business, how much he or she expects to sell and where the capital will come from. Once this information has been put down on paper, the entrepreneur can then choose an appropriate form for the company, register it with the authorities and open for business.

A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

Business plans are decision-making tools. There is no fixed content for a business plan.

Preparing a business plan draws on a wide range of knowledge from many different business disciplines: finance, human resource management, intellectual property management, supply chain management, operations management, and marketing, among others. It can be helpful to view the business plan as a collection of sub-plans, one for each of the main business disciplines.

Typical structure for a business plan

· cover page and table of contents

· executive summary

· business description

· business environment analysis

· industry background

· competitive analysis

· market analysis

· marketing plan

· operations plan

· management summary

· financial plan

· attachments and milestone

BUSINESS P LAN AS A VITAL BUSINESS TOOL

to validate - тут представляти

sound – виважений

vision - бачення

to fake -фабрикувати

to convince -переконувати

unduly -невиправдано

The success of your business depends largely upon the decisions you make. The aim of business plans is to validate an idea and challenge every aspect of the business. A business plan is a written presentation that carefully explains the business, its management team, its products or services, and its goals, together with strategies for reaching the goals. A business plan allocates resources and measures the results of your actions, helping you set realistic goals and make decisions.

A sound plan can act as:

> A reality check. The process of putting a business plan together, including the thought you put in before you begin to write it, forces you to take an objective, critical, unemotional look at your business project.

> A performance tool. Your written business plan is an operating tool which, when properly used, will help you manage your business and work effectively towards its success. Your business plan will allow you to set realistic goals and objectives for your company's performance, and, will also provide a basis for evaluating and controlling the company's performance in the future.

The completed business plan communicates your company's ideas and message to employees, outside

directors, lenders, and potential investors outside your company. A business plan helps you to do that in an organized manner.

> A motivation tool. The development of your business plan is one of the best ways for you to communicate how well you understand your business and describe your vision of your business. It is impossible to motivate people when they do not know where they are going or what they are trying to achieve.

> A management development tool. Putting together your business plan will help you to develop as a manager because it can give you practice in thinking and figuring out problems about competitive conditions, promotional opportunities.

> A road map. Your business plan will give you and your employees goals and directions: a roadmap to follow in guiding your business through good and bad times.

You should remember that there are two primary purposes of a business plan. The first has an outside objective to obtain funding. There's no business without capital. The second serves an inside purpose to provide a plan for business development. The entrepreneur must put all the "hows" and "needs" together in one package. The human and physical resources must effectively interrelate with the marketing, operational, and financial strategies of the firm. Unless an entrepreneur has magical powers of persuasion, this is not the time to try to fake it.

The business plan is considered an instrument for receiving financial sources, be they investors or lenders. They want to know that the plan has been carefully thought out by the entrepreneurial team. They want to be convinced that the team has the skills and expertise needed to manage the company and that it is prepared to seize opportunities and solve the problems that arise. That's why the business plan must be well prepared, professional in tone, and persuasive in conveying the company's potential.

It cannot be stressed too strongly that a good business plan is the cornerstone of successful financing. If you want investors' money, you will have to give them good reasons to invest. The business plan is where you lay out the reasons. It does not have to be unduly lengthy or complicated, but it must be informative and relevant. It needs to maintain logic and order, and show the company as effectively positioned as a good investment.

More important, the business plan should be specifically directed to the funding source and satisfy its particular concerns. For example, you would orient and write the plan differently for presentation to a banker than you would for a private investor. These concerns must be individually addressed.

There are no hard and fast rules for preparing a business plan - no established, formal format. Try to be interesting and captivating.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31